On February 1, the first hotels in Paguera will reopen. There will be around half a dozen, with the winter cycling market a key source of demand. The low season is one thing, the main season is another. Hoteliers in the resort are highlighting their great uncertainty, as reservations are currently only around 20% on average; they have been used in the past to 60% by this time of the year.
The president of the Paguera and Cala Fornells Hoteliers Association, Antonio Mayol, is confident that the summer months will be "good" but is concerned by the great change that has occurred with bookings' habits. Hoteliers across Mallorca have been saying much the same thing. Last-minute bookings have become the norm.
This affects planning, not least in terms of staffing, but it is something that hoteliers have acknowledged that they have to get used to. And it isn't confined to Mallorca; the last-minute trend is observable in other Mediterranean destinations.
Despite uncertainties being felt in Paguera, tourist businesses elsewhere in Calvia are preparing earlier for the season: Western Water Park in Magalluf, for example. It plans to open on April 5, several weeks earlier than usual.